Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Reneta Koleva participated in the international conference “The Green Transition - Solutions and Challenges for Bulgaria”, held today in Sofia. “For the transition to a circular economy in waste management, the aim is to extend the life cycle of products through policies and technological solutions for reuse and recycling of materials and products. The growing demand for raw materials and energy resources and their limited supply leads to the need to develop innovations - in partnership with the business and the academia, new solutions will be sought for the industry,” said Koleva.

According to her, a more sensible use of raw materials is key to measures to combat climate change, and this must cover the entire production cycle. The new targets for 2035, set in the Waste Management Act, include 65% reuse and recycling of municipal waste and limiting landfill deposition to 10%.

“An ordinance on limiting the impact of certain disposable plastic products is to be adopted,” the deputy minister said. The draft envisages an obligation to use 30% recycled raw materials in beverage containers and a target of 90% separate collection of PET bottles. The aim is to implement step-by-step measures to change consumer models.

The policy of the Ministry of Environment and Water envisages further expansion of the systems for separate collection of packaging waste, including construction of sites for deposition of household waste, which will provide additional opportunities for reuse and recycling of waste that are not currently covered by the systems. In support of separate collection, a complete change in the way of collecting mixed household waste and transition to payment for services in proportion to the amount and volume of waste is needed.

During the forum Deputy Minister Reneta Koleva announced that the MOEW has developed a draft National Strategy for Circular Economy 2021-2027, which has several main objectives - a green and competitive economy, less waste and more resources, and an economy in consumer benefit. An interdepartmental working group will prepare the final version of the strategy and together with an action plan for the period 2021-2027 the document will be submitted to the Council of Ministers at the beginning of next year.